Over the years, there have been several posts on threads that have taken a jab or two at Maryland Drivers. After an incident this morning on my commute into work on Route 28 South near Waxpool Road, I decided to open up a thread about the scum of the road, that is Maryland Drivers. (Joe, expecting you to fully embrace this thread, as I share in the frustrations you post on Twitter about these 'people.')
This morning, I was traveling in the middle lane of the 3 lane highway. Traffic was unusually light, for 8am on a Wednesday, so I was traveling at about 65-67 mph. Mind you the speed limit is 55. I spotted 2 police that had already pulled over a driver heading North on Route 28, so the threat of radar being run was possible. Meanwhile, Mr. Chevrolet Avalanche, and that dreaded Maryland Fort McHenry License Plate glaring at me in the rearview mirror, is also headed south, and apparently in much more of a hurry than my 66mph southbound little Subaru self. Mr. Avalanche flashes his lights, honks the horn, and 'forces' me to get in the right lane. He could have just passed me in either the right or the left lane on his own. As I move out of this asshole's way, he slows down as he passes, beeps the horn and lets off a massive middle finger, before speeding away. I'm not sure what I did to deserve that bird, but my only explanation is 'because Maryland Drivers.' It's the season of giving, but that's the wrong gesture to be giving an undeserving Virginia Driver.
So please, hate away. This was not my first experience with rude, disrespectful people from the ugly flag state on the highways, nor will it be my last.
Comments
yes, the only thing i have learned living up in DC and NOVA, is that no one can drive worth a damn. And personally for all the bad VA drivers I hold Ron Rosner responsible. It seems like you have to be a horrible driver to get a car from him.
I didn't realize it until I read this but you are you right. Ron Rosner is a dick.
Every time i see a bad driver i see his name stamped above their plates...EVERY. DAMN. TIME.
Maryland drivers don't understand 4 way stops.
Maryland drivers think fog is heavy snow.
Maryland drivers like Pat Narduzzi.
What's that? You want to ride my ass when there's plenty of space on either side of me to pass without incident? Hmmmmm I wonder if my brakes are working properly, I'd better check real quick.
Kidding, I would never do that.
I've been in a similar situation on 81 where I was going WELL over the speed limit and someone did exactly what Mr. Chevrolet Avalanche did. Set my cruise control to match the speed of the big rig in the right lane and cruised for 15 miles before the guy gave up, shut up, and I finally pulled ahead and moved over. If I'm paying attention like I should be and I notice I'm holding someone up, I'll move over regardless of what speed I'm doing. If said someone wants to be a dick about it....well, I guess you'll just have to deal, sunshine!
As someone who lives in SC I dread every time I see a Maryland tag. Not only is the tourist factor of not knowing the area kick in but the Maryland shitty driver factor is also at play.
Curb in the way of where they need to go, drive over it.
Light red but they need to turn run it.
Car blocking road to make left hand turn drive through yard to get around them.
Fire truck and police car blocking road, pull up to them and honk horn until someone checks to see the problem and ask "is the road closed".
The only thing worse than a Maryland driver is a Pennsylvania driver.
Not even remotely. Pennsylvania drivers are mostly bad because they're elderly but Maryland drivers are downright hostile and dangerous.
No, the worst are Florida drivers. Ancient retirees from New York City/Boston who have never had a car before are now driving FOR THE FIRST TIME on Interstates while trying to figure out their smart phones and social media to connect with their grandkids and swinger groups.
I spent most of my job on the road in Florida and can confirm that senior citizens are much much worse about driving and using their cell phones than teens are.
Slow in all lanes, last second cross-interstate dives for exits, complete disregard for traffic patterns, active aggression against motorcycles and bicycles, and inability to park.
Whenever we were trying to merge onto I-95, my wife and I felt like we had to do this
I've lived in all sorts of places, but the Florida drivers are far from the worst. Hint: it's Florida. Slow it down. There are old folks there.
Don't get me wrong, old folks drive slow, and make some horrible mistakes. But you shouldn't be surprised by this, and at least they generally aren't aggressive assholes about it like the drivers around DC. The worst drivers are the ones who think they have to prove they're more important than the people in the car in front of them.
Generally when I see someone driving like they're drunk at 10 am, it's a teenage girl texting, not a geezer.
In fact, the worst drivers I've seen in Florida are the ones who think they have to drive like the people in DC. Most people realize that if you've made it to Florida, there's nothing to be in a hurry about. Leave that hyper-aggressiveness in places where the self-important people are. Florida is a slow-driving state. If you can't handle that, move back to a large, urban area and tailgate people on the way to the traffic jam you're going to run into in 10 minutes.
The very worst drivers are the ones tailgating (Or passing across double yellow lines) on the way to Key West. WTF? All you're going to do down there is hang out and drink. There's no need to risk everyone's lives on the highway to get there a half an hour earlier.
Having lived all over the world, I'd say NOVA and MD are competitive for the worst drivers anywhere. For some reason, nobody there can grasp the concept of merging or sharing the road.
I lived 18 years in NOVA and never had a problem with merging or sharing the road with anyone...thanks to the congestion on 66, as long as you weren't trying to skip way ahead of the congestion and just tried to merge onto the highway, I rarely had anyone deny it.
PA drivers, particularly those in rural areas like the one I am in now, are AWFUL at this. If you're trying to merge onto the highway and some elderly redneck is in the right lane, it is YOUR responsibility to find a way to merge around THEM instead of them just merging left for you.
I can second this: I lived in PA (Hershey) before moving to MD, and ultimately VA, and PA drivers were notorious for stopping, like a dead stop, in the merge lane with their signals on, especially on Rt- 283. Cannot count the number of times that I almost rear ended someone on the entrance ramp because they slammed their brakes on coming to a dead stop because they thought they could not merge over.
I lived in D.C. longer than 18 years.
I suppose it depends on what part of the Washington metropolitan area you're trying to merge in. I never found 66 to be a problem, as they used to station police officers at the intersection of 66 and 495. There used to be major cluster**cks at 95 and the Wilson bridge.
Part of the problem is that the exits are designed for speeds other than rush hour, so when traffic is crawling, there is a lot of judgement and "law of the jungle" involved.
I can't compare it to PA, but I'm guessing it also has to do with road design vs road use.
Florida driving is just a giant shitshow. I think I read that Florida has the highest rate of traffic fatalities, and I think I understand why, after taking several trips there the last few years.
1.) Higher concentration of old people.
2.) No state inspection required on cars. So you can drive that spit and chicken wire clunker around until it literally falls apart.
3.) They add random crap to the roads that makes them bumpier. As I was driving around my in-laws' town, I notice these odd little tiles glued to the surface of the road. When I asked someone about it, they said that it matches up to where the fire hydrants are.
4.) Road work that takes forever. I'm pretty sure that when I was down for my brother-in-law's wedding, the signs read one date for estimated completion. The next day, when we were actually driving to the wedding, the end date was six months later.
I think I read that Florida has the highest rate of traffic fatalities
I think that's the least committal statistic I've ever read... lol
Although I find that there is bad driving everywhere, I'm going to have to insist that Florida is not the worst. I find cities where the drivers think they're in the Indianapolis 500 in spite of the fact that they're driving a four-cylinder car with bicycle brakes to be more hazardous to my health.
Since I live in Florida, I think I can shed some light on your points regarding Florida driving. I'm not defending the driving here as much as providing a perspective.
1) Nobody should be surprised by this. If you can't tolerate old people who drive a little slower, and do unpredictable things like making sudden (but slow) turns without signals, this could be a challenge. They usually do other things to indicate they're going to turn, like slow down from their already slow rate of speed. I think this is an adjustment visitors need to make; the old people can't adjust their age.
2) You are absolutely correct. Coming from Virginia (originally) and Germany (just before I moved to Florida), where they inspect your car every 10 minutes, I was pretty shocked that it appears that you can make any modification to your Florida car and nobody will ever pay much attention. This includes tinting the windows to the degree that they may not be transparent, or cutting the top off your car to make it into a convertible. I'm not sure this makes the driving worse, but it can't be all that safe.
3) I also was curious about the little blue reflectors in the road, and like you figured out that they correspond to fire hydrants. I'm not sure how they're a road hazard to anyone other than skateboarders, and I'm guessing it's pretty useful if you're looking for a fire hydrant.
4) In which state does road work NOT take forever? I know I haven't visited there yet.
NoVA drivers are worse
NOVA drivers, MD drivers....what's the difference again??
Yes.
well I have had the best/worst of both worlds, and imo, NoVA drivers take the cake
They're both pretty bad, but there is a slight difference in driving style.
In Maryland, they don't appear to know how to drive. In NOVA, they know how to drive, but are pretending that they don't.
Every single time I'm passed by someone going 90+ on 66 or 95:
Wife: "Maryland driver?"
Me: "Yup"
I work off rt50 and live in Alexandria. It is amazing the # of MD plates I see on I66. Are there no Jobs in MD?
I was sitting in Traffic on I-66, one of many days, and of the eight surrounding cars, 6 were from MD.
There's lots of jobs in MD clearly because the traffic from VA to MD in the morning is way worse than MD to VA
It's not that there are more jobs it's that people don't want to live in MD.
I can second this. Financially, who would want to? Not to mention the other reasons of why living in VA > MD.
My wife and I moved from Rockville to Northern VA and two noticeable changes occurred:
1) Car Insurance rates dropped $95/month - no other changes other than zip code.
2) State/County tax withholding decreased almost 3%.
Especially if one is right out of school, in student loan debt, why would you chose Maryland, financially speaking?
Don't know a ton about the different parts of rockville, but housing costs could be a difference. I was very close to moving to nova a couple years ago but housing costs were so much higher in Fairfax county / Arlington compared to Montgomery county. A few % different in state income taxes wouldn't have made up the difference, especially factoring in the tax free basic food in MD and no car tax
A lot of Fairfax isn't too bad for housing costs. I know we found places in Tyson's that were the same price, if not $50-$100 cheaper per month than what we were paying in North Bethesda - equivalent unit types and amenities and size.
Wait you're saying Fairfax isn't bad and then claiming you can find a good price...in McLean? Vienna? What rock have I been living under.
Considering the absolute boom in apartment buildings being built in the McLean/Tyson's area since the Metro was extended, I'm not surprised. There's a ton of competition in that area right now.
Fair enough, part of my trouble was my potential roommate was much more interested in living in Arlington within walking distance of the orange line so my exploring of the cheaper options was shortened. Once you get there the prices jump up fast
Same here. Rooommate had to live close to the metro, but then when my girlfriend and i started looking for an apartment we quickly realized how significantly cheaper it is to live even 1-2 miles away from the metro. We live off columbia pike, and are only a $10 uber away from the heart of arlington and dc. It's pretty absurd how much the metro spikes rent
Which is funny because everyone hates the metro now
I did a comparison a long time ago, and the car costs for me were close to even because of the car tax in Virginia, which ate my insurance savings.
I still preferred Virginia, though.
I lived in the Gaithersburg/Rockville area for a little while. Absolutely the worst drivers. A little snow on the road? Upside-down in a ditch. A little rain on the road? Upside-down in a ditch. Beautiful sunny day sitting still in a parking lot? Upside-down in a ditch.
Even now here in NC my wife and I get nervous when we see Maryland plates.
The left lane is for passing, not cruising.
Speed limits on limited access highways are bullshit.
No need for the finger or road rage though.
And NoVa drivers are just as frustrating in so many ways as Md drivers.
Not according to the laws in either Virginia or Maryland.
http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html
Virginia -
You've helped me make my point, which is get back in the right lane when someone wants to get around you (Edit: And stop impeding the flow of traffic). This essentially means that in the left lane, passing has priority.
Not really, you specifically said the "the left lane is for passing, not cruising." That says I can cruise in the left lane all I want as long as I'm not impeding traffic and holding anyone up.
Edit: And as I mentioned above, if I notice I'm holding someone up I generally do what the law says anyway. I move over regardless of the speed of the person behind me. If said person is a dick about it, I tend not to "notice" very quickly. And yes, from my previous job experience I realize this makes the roadway much more dangerous. But, frankly, I don't care because if me taking a little extra time to get out of your way because you want to do 30 over the speed limit instead of the 15 over I'm doing sends someone into a road rage fit....well, they've got more problems than I do.
Seriously, how hard is it to just not be a dick to other people on the road?
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
I wasn't in the left lane either – I was in the middle lane. He had the left lane open to pass me, and the right lane for that matter. I was in the correct lane at the time – all of the merging traffic that was going to be coming in from Waxpool was going to need to merge into Route 28 in about a half a mile ahead of me.
Ah yes, merging... probably the most elusive skill in the DMV (it's either that or taking a curve on 66 without slowing down to 35). The only positive thing about driving in LA is that folks understand you can merge at 80 mph.
Your Maryland driver was an asshole though, no disputing that.
http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-804/
After reading this I feel justified in saying that 90% of the people on the road in NoVa have no idea what the left lane is for (and by left lane I mean any lanes other than the right most lane).
There truly is no common operating picture with respect to road rules and etiquette in this area. Is driver's ed no longer required?
Key phrase:
I will say that the volume of traffic makes it difficult to adhere to any kind of standard.
Whatcha talkin bout hon?
A thread that could unite the country! Growing up in the DMV, Virginia drivers are getting worse, but no contest, Maryland and DC drivers are the worst. Its their road and you are just driving on it. Also, I have found Pennsylvania drivers to be the worst at going slow in the left lane.
Yes MD drivers are putrid. Has anyone ever driven in Boston!?
If you aren't from there, you shouldn't drive in Boston. Took a cab from airport to downtown once at rush hour and our cabbie had three minor scrapes/collisions on the way in. Nobody seemed to notice except me. They bump and scrape routinely, I was told. I met two Bostonians who admitted to having two cars, one junker for daily driving in the demolition derby they call rush hour, and one for trips and travel out of town. No bumps on the way back to the airport, but the trip in made an everlasting impression on me.
Driven to Boston a few times... never had anything like that happen. Maybe a couple times there was some jagoff that cut me off or whatever but it wasn't nearly as bad as NYC or Chicago. You want to talk about bad drivers....
The Boston driving scene is a freak show. I saw a woman standing in a parking spot holding it for a carcoming around the traffic circle. Another car pushed her out of the way with it bumper. Great entertainment!
putrid? I don't think that's the word you're looking for
I've driven in Boston (in a rental) and aside from the traffic being dense I really didn't think it was that bad.
I've lived on Cape Cod for over 20 years, and have driven to and around Boston quite frequently. The trip in or back is no different from any other major city traffic (and I've worked in D.C. and Chicago while living in the burbs of each). Honestly, I think traffic is much worse in San Diego and Atlanta.
In town, however, I've definitely noticed that the cab drivers in Boston are far, far worse and aggressive than in other cities. IMO, they are the #1 cause of near road rage incidents. I hope Uber takes all of their business away.
Atlanta and snow...nuff said
Yep
9 hours to go 2.7 miles. If I'd had good shoes I'd have walked home.
Oh we're going over bad drivers... well then let me share something about North Carolina that has been bothering me for a while...
ahem...
TURN YOUR FUCKING HIGH BEAMS OFF YOU JACK HOLES
Seriously, maybe I just notice it more after buying a Camaro that sits a little lower to the ground, but holy shit no less than 2x a day do I get passed by someone riding through traffic with their high beams on without a care in the world. Which, it was already bad back in the day of incandescent bulbs, but now with projectors and LEDs, its damn near unbearably blinding to be approached by these assholes at dusk, let alone at night.
Oh, and while we're at it... GET OFF YOUR DAMN PHONE. Seriously, I cannot say it enough. My wife was t-boned at the intersection out of our apartment complex the day after the Michigan Sugar Bowl by someone who blatantly ran through a red light because they weren't paying attention and glued to their phone. Her car was totaled with the driver's side back door crumpled to the rear passenger's seat, and the other car ended up on its roof. My wife is lucky to be alive. Then, about a month ago, it damn near happened to me, with another driver blowing through a red light as I was making the turn on green, only to have their driver's assistance braking take over to avoid the crash. Next thing I know, this asshole is filling up my rear window because I apparently wasn't going fast enough, but allowed me to see the clear cell phone use through my rear window (which, if you've seen a new Camaro, is quite small). And that doesn't even mention the fact that literally any time I see someone driving slow anymore, if they're not old, they on their phone. 10-20mph under speed limit on the interstate causing cars to have to erratically switch lanes to dodge your slow, distracted, incompetent ass because your call is more important than being safe. Nah, screw you, asshole.
*deeeeeep breath*
ok, that was cathartic
I've been nearly hit by a State Trooper who was (you guessed it) on the phone.
I have lived in three places in my life for any extended period of time. Most of my life has been spent in the Upstate of SC, four years were spent in God's favorite college town in VA, and for 3 years I lived in north Raleigh. I can say that unequivocally and undeniably that drivers in the Triangle are far, far worse than the other two locations. Honestly it was like every time I went out it seemed like something happened. Heck in 3 years I WITNESSED 3 PEOPLE GO THE WRONG WAY ON A ROUNDABOUT. I could tell stories for days about the ridiculous things I saw including the fact that my wife was also t-boned about 2 months before we moved away. Raleigh drivers can best be summed up with the famous pic from the snow storm several years back (which my wife also had to drive home in while dodging these crazy people)...
I noticed that NOVA / DC / MD aren't on the list of places you've lived. Trust me, MD drivers are worse. I lived in NC for 4 years and I thought those drivers were bad. But after being in NOVA for the last 2.5 years, I can confidently claim there ain't a place in this country with worse drivers than MD.
I prefer this version of that picture
People had a lot of fun with this one when it came out...
Yeah, that's what happens when you get a freak snowstorm in an area without the infrastructure to deal with it. That had less to do with NC drivers and more to do with the fact that Raleigh just doesn't plan for snow. Not worth putting the investment into the plows and salt needed to keep the roads clear when this kind of thing happens maybe once every 5 years or so. The people in this area still suck terribly at driving, but there were reasons for this outside of "derp you can't drive in the snow". Nobody can drive in the snow when the roads aren't treated, as we saw in DC this past weekend and last year.
Yeah but...that car is on fire.
As I said, there are some that can't drive worth a damn.
That picture was taken about a mile and a half from my house. Having grown up here, and knowing the forecast for that day, I worked from home, because I knew what a disaster the roads would be that day. Most of my local friends had to abandon their cars on Glenwood or 540 because there was no way to get up that hill. This brilliant moron thought that if she just redlined the sumbitch, it would eventually get up the hill. 5 minutes later, poof goes the engine.
Well according to several of my friends who have lived in Raleigh their entire lives "cars just catch fire sometimes when its cold out"
Around Albany, I've noticed an even worse problem... people driving at night or in the fog (or sometimes both) without headlights at all. Usually at least twice a day I see someone like this. Once or twice I almost hit someone because I had no idea they were even there, but ever since I take a second or third look to see if I'm missing something. It's awful.
You aren't kidding. When I lived in Saratoga, the number of cars on the road with one or both headlights out was ridiculous. I drove back to Virginia and got my car inspected and found out I had a headlight out once, too; not sure what causes it but I wonder if the winter weather led to the shortened life span of headlights.
Most headlights are halogen lamps. These work just like a standard incandescent bulb. But, they place a halogen gas (fluorine, chlorine, iodine, but normally bromine) into the lamp. When the bulb is lit, the tungsten filament gets hot. When it heats up, the filament degrades and bits of the tungsten evaporate off. In an normal incandescent bulb, this tungsten blackens the bulb itself and causes failure. In a halogen bulb, the tungsten reacts with the bromine to make a halide (like WBr5). Due to natural convection of the gaseous mixture around the filament, the halide will move upwards away from the filament at a high temperature and then falls back towards the filament as it cool. As the halide gets closer to the filament again, the heat from the filament degrades the halide and the tungsten falls back to join the filament. Adding the halogen improves lifetime of the lamp, but it requires a significantly higher internal temperature than a standard incandescent lamp. So maybe with colder weather, the lamp was not getting as hot and the filament broke down faster more like a standard incandescent bulb.
Edited for clarity.
I work on setting energy efficiency standards for lighting technologies, so I have to understand how they all function.
Wow - in all seriousness, that's awesome. Oh the places you will go via Virginia Tech.
Woah, you made me learn something on TKP
This isn't the scissors website. We bring it here!!!
I feel the same way after each of French's film reviews
It's not just because the lights are out. Occasionally I'll signal them with my lights, and sometimes they'll understand and turn theirs on. I just don't understand how you can be driving up the Northway at 9PM doing 75 MPH without realizing your headlights aren't on.
While on topic of NC drivers.
turn signals are not just for turning
they are also a great way to indicate that you intend to change lanes, and should also be used for turning. TURN SIGNALS ARE NOT OPTIONAL
If you can afford a camaro, you can afford to join TKPC...
Oh sorry, wrong thread...and inapplicable anyway. I'll just shut up now.
Then why don't I have a Camaro dammit?
Step 1 of driving in Maryland: sit in the right lane. Everyone avoids it like the plague.
Step 2: Profit. It's that easy.
DON'T TELL THEM MY SECRETS!
Whenever I was on 95, 495, or 270 in the last 15 years, I consistently pass most people in the right lane.
Living in Wythe County and commuting 2 hours each day, I see two interstates-worth of you people. I can say, without hesitation, Ohio is the worst. Lots of bad drivers come through the area. And they're from a lot of different places. But Ohio takes the cake.
Other observations:
People don't seem to understand the wrong-way concurrency. Were you going south on 81 before? Follow those signs. It's simple. Stopping in the middle of the damn interstate is not acceptable (this happens... Along with people backing up the entrance ramp).
North Carolina cars don't come equipped with turn signals.
People don't use cruise control enough. Push the damn button.
I feel your pain. Living in Bland I have to deal with the tunnels and nothing is better than sitting in 2mph traffic for 3 hours in July to get through the tunnel and magically there is nothing there! Gasp! Amazement! I usually take 717 and merge on and suffer for a few minutes, but you will inevitably get caught a time or two.
The folks up at Big Walker Lookout love it when the tunnel is blocked. I've asked Ron if he has some secret device to cause backups.
Yep, I have driven in every state and Ohio always gets first prize for the worst drivers. Hands down.
how are Hawaiian drivers?
I'm convinced that the end of days will begin with a Maryland driver in a Prius.
I've driven in a lot of places in my time and I can say without a doubt that I hate all drivers everywhere equally <3
Yeah I'm gonna have to agree with this bit of genius right here. Because that the rate this post is going the whole dang eastern seaboard is gonna be covered as "worst drivers ever". I'm gonna have my
cakePIE and eat it too.NE Ohio is a relatively pleasant place to drive; no "huge" cities and most people use cruise control (or at least maintain relatively constant speed).
Columbus is where crappy traffic begins; the drive down to Cincinnati from there is a de-facto cruise-control free zone.
All y'all need to experience driving in third world or developing countries, you will never have a bad thing to say about American drivers again.
Can I get an "amen" Eshiben?
Honestly, even Western European countries have a lot to teach us about terrible driving. I drove in Florence, Italy a couple of weeks ago and the experience can only be described as "harrowing".
That being said, the most scared I've ever been in a car (or possibly anywhere in my entire life) was in Bangalore, India, and I wasn't even driving. Our driver told us "you need two things to drive in India: patience and a horn".
Without a doubt, driving in Italian cities or on narrow, curvy mountainous roads can be - as you say and I've said exactly the same myself - harrowing.
But driving on Italian highways is the exact opposite. The Italians don't drive as fast as the Germans - although they still drive much faster than Americans, maybe 90-100 mph in the outside lane - but they obey the rules of the road, keep to the right, understand the concept of getting up to highway speed before merging into traffic, and actually put on their turn signal as they are passing a car (to let you know they are aware you are behind them and will be moving over as soon as they finish passing) - unlike Americans who, IF they move back the right after passing and IF they use their turn signal, wait until they are moving back to the right to put their turn signal on.
I grew up driving in NoVA and thought those drivers were bad. It's one thing to be aggressive or do stupid stuff. MD drivers are a whole other animal. Yeah, a lot of them drive like lunatics, but what's worse is they are utterly oblivious to anything going on around them, are hesitant, disregard signs regarding parking, block whatever lanes they damn well please, etc. In my time in MD (just short of 4 years at this point), I have seen more stupidity than my entire life in NoVA and it's not even close.
When I was learning to drive, my dad's first two rules to me were: (1) you do what I say when I say it because this is my car and (2) if you're going to do something, commit and f$*%&@&ing do it because indecision kills. For example, the NoVA approach is to cut someone off on the highway - possibly dangerous but everyone sees it and adjusts. In MD, that person is going to be cruising in the lane to your right going 5 mph under the prevailing speed with their left signal on and doing nothing for 2 miles, then the blinker will go off and a half mile later that person will start drifting into the right lane only to correct back and then drift into, and merge into, the left lane with no real warning. That's the kind of stuff that gets people killed.
I hate MD drivers....that being said, I know two people residing (and driving MD tagged cars) in MD who are exceptionally good drivers.
But every time I'm on any major highway in/around NOVA and I see bad driving my immediate instinct is to check the number plate. 9/10 times it's a MD plate. I'm never surprised.
Wait, you're on the internet and saying a stereotype isn't always true? I don't think you're allowed to do that.
#NotAllMDDrivers
I certainly show biased because I am predetermined that every time I see an asinine move, it is a Maryland driver. Other times I will convince myself that it must be a Maryland born driver.
This is my favorite thread of all time. MD drivers are the worst. But why stop at the drivers? Maryland is also the worst state in just about everything. I'll probably get some down votes from Maryland natives on here, (you all are very proud) but I stand by my opinion and experiences. To be fair, the Fullers are from MD.
I love VA and grew up here but NOVA drivers are pretty awful in general as well, plus VA has the worst driving laws/penalties in the country. Do NOT drive over 80. It will cost you.
Not an MD native (really have no reason to like MD) but I'm genuinely curious what else they're the worst at...
their crab cakes are pretty good....they can't be the worst at that
Maryland's biggest and most well known city is Baltimore. That can't be good.
yeah, but Detroit...Baltimore is bad, but is it really the worst??
The fact that you mentioned Motown in the same sentence speaks volumes. But yes, They are actually both the Worst. Along with places like Patterson NJ.
eh...that's kind of a fallacy
I didn't mention Motown in the same sentence in the sense that "Detroit and Baltimore are both bad but Detroit is worse"
It was more like - how can you call Baltimore the worst when there are CLEARLY worse places, like Detroit.
Put another way, it would be akin to me saying that UNC's academic scandal is the worst when someone tells me they found out kids at VT cheated on a quiz or something. Does mentioning UNC's academic mess in the same sentence really "speak volumes" about a cheating case at VT?
You mechanically engineered the hell out of my post! I wasn't really ranking the Worst cities in America 1-100.
I was going more along the lines of "man, that's the worst" in regards to something generally held as bad.
Unc, PITT, LOLUVA, and the "u" are all "the Worst". But like LOLUVA, Detroit has at least 1 redeeming quality. I dont know what it is, but I'm sure it exists.
Woah woah woah. Do. It take our profession's name in vain!
Crab cakes! I'll have to risk it...
Please, tell me the place that Maryland crab cakes are better than anywhere else, because this is what Maryland residents/natives tell me is the case. I would love to go there to sample them. I love crab and crab cakes and have been to several spots in MD, but I have yet to find this mythical Maryland place of having the best crabs and crab cakes than anywhere else. It's a cockiness factor. They aren't better than anywhere else, but for some reason they declare that they are the best without question, yet cannot provide reason why, unless it was stated in Wedding Crashers. It's obnoxious and annoying as hell. The drivers are bad as a whole, Baltimore is sketchy/dangerous, College Park is lame at best. These are all the things I hear from Marylanders that are the best about the state... I disagree. I've also had a lot of personal experiences in that state that continue to show me the state as a whole is awful. I'm not saying everyone from there or everything from there is bad, because that's not true. But overall, I'd rather go to 49 other states than Maryland if I had to.
There are some places in Virginia that have killer crab cakes. Rappahannock Restaurant was named by Food in Wine in 2015 to have the best crab cake in the country. Agree - I've had Maryland Crab cakes, and they are all about the same - I fee that Marylanders pride themselves of saying "Our crabcakes have no filling" and will make it a point to call out others that have a tiny amount of binding ingredients (i.e. egg, breadcrumbs) in the 'opposing cake.'
woah there tiger!!
First, I never said that MD crab cakes were the best. But they are pretty good and they're definitely not the worst I've ever had. You explicitly said MD was the worst at everything. I pointed out one thing they're not the worst at. Baltimore gets a bad rep (and rightly so) but it's not the only city in the US with major problems. Never been to College Park but I've heard it sucks. Aside from crab-cakes, I've never heard anyone from MD claim that any of those things are the best in any capacity.
I think you have had some bad experiences and are perhaps unfairly condemning an entire state as a result. I've been to Annapolis plenty of times (my brothers went to school there and my oldest bro lives there) and I like it a lot. I've been camping in western MD and it is one of my favorite camping spots. There are some good things in MD. I think every state has some good, some bad. Seems to me you've only run into the bad from MD and that has skewed your perspective.
Just an FYI, most of the crabs you get in MD (and surrounding areas) areally actually from the Gulf, or worse, China. Due to the population decrease in the bay. So unless you get the crabs directly from the crabber, high possibility they aren't from MD.
There are a lot of places known for crab items, such a crab cakes or soup, and they are pretty spread out. If you are eating at Phillips, you are doing it wrong haha.
Yeah, Phillips now sucks, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the late 70's, there were only two Phillips restaurants I believe, both in Ocean City. They didn't even have a liquor license, so you could bring in your own coolers of beer and set them down beside you at the table. There was no buffet, only table service by cute college girls (yes, they only hired cute girls). Back then, the crab cakes, lump cream of crab soup, etc. were excellent.
That's why I pick mine up personally at the dock in Cambridge. I know the guy who caught them, and know where the crabs were an hour or so ago.
Anything on the island in Ocean City is basically a brown food fiesta. It's been frozen and fried, from Sysco. Phillips included. I've never been to the 150 foot long buffet for $45. That's a joke. Want fresh, go to a small local joint in Cambridge, or west Ocean City, or St Michaels, or even Annapolis.
As a native Marylander, I agree with you.
If your argument for MD being the worst at everything has anything to do with DC, College Park, or Baltimore, then I can't take it too seriously. There is so much more in MD than the 95 Corridor. Go out to the mountains to Deep Creek Lake, go walk around historic downtown Frederick, go see the Antietam Battlefield, the State Capitol building in Annapolis along with the rest of the historic town and Naval Academy, there's the Catoctin Colorfest every year in Thurmont which is widely recognized as one of the top Craft, Art, and Food festivals in the country, etc.
People seem to forget that MD is pretty much the same as VA, just smaller. It stretches from the Ocean to the mountains. Yes, there are things that I like better about VA just as there are things I like better about MD, but it seems like a lot of people in this thread are just shitting on the state in general because they had a bad experience one time in Baltimore city, which coincidentally has one of the highest crime rates in the country, or because College Park is a dump and very few Marylanders (including many I know who are native to that area or went to UMD) legitimately like the area. That's like me saying that VA as a whole sucks because I had a bad experience in downtown Norfolk one time, and I don't like the stretch around South Boston between Richmond and NC.
As far as the crabs go, you need to find locally sourced crabs, and it's more about how they are prepared IMO. The best crabcakes are found at little hole-in-the-wall places like Lou and Joe's in Mt. Airy, G&M in Linthicum Heights, and May's Restaurant in Frederick.
And, it doesnt matter what state you are in, DMV drivers are bad. An hour outside of the DMV any direction and the driving gets significantly better.
My wife is from Annapolis - I do enjoy that town. It still boggles my mind how there is no craft brewery in downtown Annapolis. Separate topic for a different day.
You do bring up valid points about the state - Eastern Shore and the Western Mountains are very different than the the stretch between the bay and Route 15. Frederick is nice, and has a cool downtown part, some great restaurants. Parts west of there could be mistaken for either West Virginia or Virginia, depending on how far west you go.
Yes, the Eastern Shore is very different. And we're happy with it being that way! I think I'm one of a handful from the Shore that actively posts on here. And that includes ESVA and Delaware.
To touch on the OP, the VA drivers that go to the beach need to learn that the left lane is not for cruising at 57. ESPECIALLY when there is NOBODY in the right lane for a mile. Move over. Cruise over there. Just get out of the way! Every Thursday and Friday there are a few cars that just mozy along in the left lane, then want to tailgate and flip their fingers and lights at me. I didn't do a single thing except pass on the right. I've gotten used to it, and don't even look over or do anything, just move along. But it's like I just stole their dog or something. Um, don't be just beboping along in the left lane and there won't be a problem...
And we on the shore are not anything like B'more. Or the 295 corridor. Or PG or Montgomery County. No planned county communities like Howard and Columbia. I do end up on that side frequently either for work or soccer games, but most of the time I get to come back across the bridge the same day.
And we have some outstanding breweries down here. RAR in Cambridge. Evolution in Salisbury. Burley Oak in Berlin. And of course DFH in lower DE. The crabcakes are great. The rockfish is better. The Crab Soup is outstanding. And the beer is always cold and hoppy.
Where on the shore do you live? I have family that lives out in Denton and Salisbury! It's definitely different out there than the rest of the state. But then again where I grew up in far northern Montgomery Co. is completely different than Rockville and Bethesda.
Live in Parsonsburg, just on the east side of Salisbury. Grew up on the east side of Salisbury. Work in Cambridge. Nice little 45 minute drive each way, opposite the sun, checking out the eagles, ospreys, and hawks. It's peaceful down here. I can be in west OC in 25 minutes or so. Good for eating, shopping, chilling, golf, anything.
Awesome! It's a nice area for sure.
My wife and I did a trip down the Shore to Chincoteague back in May. Stopped at RAR on the way down, and was impressed. Have been trying to get my hands on some Burley Oak for quite some time, and some of the RAR releases. Both look and sound amazing. Actually have some RAR Ipa in the fridge right now.
Completely agree- Eastern Shore is a different world.
I think we've been over this before and it's because you ran into some trouble in Baltimore and UMD grads are obnoxious. Unless that was someone else; I could be misremembering.
Hardly seems like reason to condemn an entire state. There's can be bad people anywhere
Yeah, you're not wrong, there can be bad people anywhere, but there just appears to be a much higher than average proportion of them on the roads in Maryland.
Yes, that very well could have been me. Yes, you are correct that there cannot be bad people everywhere. I'm not saying everyone from MD is bad, but the state as a whole, sucks. Here are just a few reasons why the entire state is lame:
The drivers, hence the thread.
Baltimore. Camden Yards is great, Aquarium as well. The rest of it? No thanks. Despite the statement on the benches, it is not the Greatest City in America. Is this where the cockiness comes from?
Crabs- Why are they so much better than everywhere else? I find cheaper, bigger, better tasting crabs all over NC. They don't need to brag about it. Please, someone show me where/why MD crabs are better.
College Park - Lame at best, despite what SVP and current students declare. I guess it's cool to take the metro out of town?
Fedex Field - What a dump. I'm embarrassed to say how many times I've been there.
Preakness- "It's the $hit man!!!" Yes, it is a giant pile of horse $hit.
Ocean City - LOL. VB's ugly cousin. And I cannot stand VB.
In a positive light, Maryland gave the world Old Bay, Cal Ripken and fishing for striped bass in the Bay (Virginia too). My personal, poor experiences from/within MD includes terrible drivers from there, being legitimately threatened for my life twice (Bmore and St. Michaels) and more people than I can count bragging about how great MD/crabs/Bmore/College Park is without any reason to actually prove any of this, plus experiences at places like Fedex Field and Ocean City.
Not all of the state is bad. Camden Yards is my favorite MLB park (I'm a Nats fan). The Bmore Aquarium is awesome. St. Michaels is beautiful, until later in the evening. But please, give me something else other than crabs and a line from Wedding Crashers. I could probably live in the far western part of the state that may as well be northern West Virginia because it seems very remote and away from the rest of the baloney. In my job as a national sales rep I deal with several dozens of people daily from the east coast. It legit surprises me how many of the problem folks come from a 301, 443 or 410 area code. It's uncanny. Not all of them, but a very high number of them. I've been able to call it before they tell their address, area code or zip code.
Other random BS that doesn't matter but I find ironic.... Can't buy beer in grocery stores, Ray Lewis, the VT-UMD game we lost in Lane a few years ago, Natty Bo, and Dan Snyder to name a few off of the top of my drunk head...
Edit: I forgot to give credit where credit is due. O.A.R. is one of my favorite bands. Tip of the hat MD.
Haha I think everyone will give you Dan Snyder and FedEx field. No one is a fan. As far as crabs go, I only ever recommend G&M which is right outside the beltway. My personal favorite crabcakes. Not that I eat a lot of crabs in NC either so I wouldn't be able to compare.
For a lot of people the appeal of Maryland is how different it is without having to go far. There's western MD with the mountains and deep Creek lake, access to both Baltimore and DC, smaller cities like Frederick or Annapolis, rural area on the Eastern shore, suburbs between the cities, the beach, the bay, etc. Not college park haha. I know a ton of people who went there and literally none got into the atmosphere or have much affection for the town. They follow b-ball and that's about it
So there's plenty people like besides crabs, just to name a few for you. It's just that different parts of the state are surprisingly different
Oh and don't forget wedding crashers!
No beer in grocery/convenience stores is some BS, and easily the worst part about living in MD.
Otherwise, though, you really are judging the state by all of its worst qualities. I mean, College Park is a shithole. If anyone has ever told you different they were f'ing with you. I work with a lot of Terps, and my sister went there too, and none of them dispute that CP is a dump. Same goes for FedEx.
I didn't grow up here, but after I moved to the DC area (and lived in the District for a few years) I chose MD over NoVA when the time came to buy. Not that I'd live in any old part of MD, mind you - it's all about the immediate area. Once you leave Bethesda, the 270 corridor blows until Frederick. PG County, no thank you. I'm in Silver Spring less than 2 miles from the DC line, so we have walkable local restaurants, coffee shops, our own (very good) brewery, etc. I value those things, along with the more organic feel of our area over a big house in a suburb 20 miles outside the beltway. To each their own. But to me, it's harder to find what I'm looking for in NoVA than MD. I get more of the strip mall/suburb feel from the other side of the river.
Anyway, not shitting on what other people value, this is just what I and my wife like. Not trying to convince you that MD is great either - it's silly to judge an entire state as one entity anyway. I'd live in close-in Arlington, just like I'd live in downtown Bethesda, if I could afford either one.
They actually have weird laws that allow like one franchise per county to sell beer without being a designated alcohol store. For example, the Safeway across the street from me sells beer and wine, but it's one of the only grocery stores in the whole state that I've ever found that is allowed to.
I don't understand it, but you can, on occasion, buy beer in a grocery store in MD
It's a county by county basis. Heck on the shore until recently you could only buy liquor from the County. Not ABC, but close...but each county was different. That's ok, because I'm 10 minutes from the DE line. And that means NO TAX!
Yeah that's true, but since none of them are convenient to me they may as well not exist. MoCo is the worst on top of it all, so we have not only restricted places to purchase, but also terrible selection. Good times! At least the self-distribution by breweries thing is helping. You can get local beer on tap most everywhere now.
Pennsylvania tops them all with the weirdest alcohol laws. Can only purchase 2 six packs at a time, and only places designated as a restaurant can sell. The restaurant thing may be changing though. Distributors can only sell a 12 pack or a 24 pack. So antiquated.
True. I grew up in PA and escaped those terrible liquor laws for... MoCo, MD. Maybe I should reevaluate my priorities.
I've been living these alcohol laws for 11 years and I can tell you they suck totally. But there are places that are getting around it. For example, if you serve food then you can serve alcohol as long as the registers that ring up the PRE-PREPARED FOOD ONLY is some percentage of food and some percentage of alcohol. So at my local Wegmans they set up registers that will only check out pre-prepped food but you can buy beer there (still only in regulated quantities) and they just got wine there last month as well.
So by and large, unless you want a case, you can pretty much deal with it nowadays. The beer distributor experience (i.e. a warehouse full of beer) is a novelty. It isn't too bad, since there is one close to my house.
Side note my local beer distributor, Pletcher's, has a deal on 24 packs of 16-oz bells two hearted so i've been drinking that for two months straight. Someone here has two hearted as their avatar.
If I remember correctly, there is a nice bottle shop up in State College off North Atherton - Jake's maybe? Remember stopping in for some 'cue and they had a pretty good selection of stuff to-go.
I was in PA for 4 years, and always had my go-to stops to find beer easily - plus it helped living 5 minutes from Troegs :)
Troegs is probably my favorite PA brewery. Haven't been to Hershey but seems like a good reason to head down there.
Fat Jack's is a neat little redneck hole in the wall store, about 1/2 mile from my house. They make the most delicious chili mac you've ever had and good cue as far as Pennsyltucky is concerned. The chili mac ain't on the menu, you gotta ask for it. I had a small cup of it and I gained 15 lbs and a gigantic smile.
The crab cakes and bushels of steamed Maryland blues are the best. And, I do seem to recall (barely) many good times at the Carousel in Ocean City in the late 70's/early 80's, before the partying crowd moved up to Dewey ('Do Me') beach. Oh yeah...
Growing up in MD I noticed quite a difference in driving once I was down at tech. It was a refreshing change. Now I work in Nova and everyone up here is equally terrible as where I grew up
Bad drivers come from everywhere man. I was on 66 on a sunday night around 10pm last week heading eastbound between Gainesville and Centreville. No one on the road but me and approaching truck behind me. I was going between 70-72 (speed limit is 60 there i think). Tacoma in Georgia tags behind me flies up on my bumper and tailgates. I figured at his approaching speed he would just go around me since there was nobody else on the road (all lanes to the right and left open) Nope tailgates me from Gainesville to Centreville. Dangerously close to where i couldnt see his headlights behind my tailgate in the rearview. I even slowed down to the speed limit and he still wouldnt go around. Guess he had to prove his point that he was the tough guy. I guess in hindsight i should have just moved over.
What i hate the most driving in NOVA is when i try to go around slower drivers in my truck they speed up. It is like they are offended that my truck is passing their luxury sedan.
You bring up a good point. I do see a lot of bad drivers in luxury sedans too, regardless of state tags. Maybe it's the 'i'm justified to be a terrible driver because of my wallet size' argument...
So if i am reading this thread correctly, if you're a Maryland Driver who purchased your luxury sedan from Ron Rosner, then you're pretty much the worst thing ever.
I've noticed a strange phenomenon, where the nicer someone's car is, the more likely they're driving like an asshole. Not sure if that's confirmation bias, or if it just means that nicer car equals more money equals lesser regard for keeping ones possessions undamaged or something...
Been a few times that's happened to me while I'm cruising in the far right lane. My strategy has usually been to cancel the cruise control and start coasting down, and if I drop all the way below the speed limit I'll turn on my hazards and keep coasting. I've never had to drop to more than 5 under before they get the picture, except for one time on 81 South between Roanoke and C-burg when there was some guy that was so "road ragey" that he kept tailgating me when I switched to the left lane, and back to the right, and then off to the shoulder to stop. At that point, when he got out of his car, I floored it and GTFO'd with a pack of traffic approaching, so by the time he got back in his car and got going he'd have to work his way through the pack before catching back up to me. Fortunately I didn't see him again.
I live in VA and on the state line of VA and NC. NC drivers are, as Chuck Barkley puts it, "turble". And there is proof.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/23/worst-drivers/93470416/
I'm NC born and raised and can say through experience, that all the "northerner" transplants to RTP that think they can drive in the "snow" in this area are delusional; nobody can drive on ice (black or otherwise). I also happened to have married a native MD'er (but a Hokie, bc duh!), she (nor her family) are as bad as those described above. Apparently I chose wisely, bc this kind of stuff would not fly if I was in the vehicle.
And why the Eff do none of them know that a turn signal is also used for merging?
In Germany, which has the best passenger car drivers in the world, IMO, you would have gotten the same reaction from every driver (at least the flashing lights part) because the notion that you were traveling in the middle lane of 3 lanes in light traffic - and there was room to pass you on either side - is not only considered inconsiderate, rude, and dangerous driving, but also against the law (a law which is enforced).
And I was once with an Irish driver (who had never been to the US) in Ireland when a car pulled aside to let him pass. I said an American driver would never do that and explained to him that Americans don't pay any attention to the idea of slower vehicles keeping to the right or generally using turn signals when changing lanes. He gave me a puzzled look and simply said "well, why don't the cops just give them a ticket?"
Im with you. Stay right, except to pass, even if there are open lanes.
I dont think that 4vpisu deserved the finger, but I get really pissed off with drivers that stay in the left or middle lanes
In Europe, if you pass someone to the right and there is an accident, it's YOUR fault.
Because you're required to pass to the left, it's considered extremely rude to "own" the left lane if someone wishes to pass you, and you can get a ticket for this. You're expected to move to the right.
It's a great system, but painful when you return to the U.S. and the "chaos rules" system.
There is some sort of similar law in PA I think - if you pass someone in the right lane, and are not going unreasonably higher than the speed limit, then the left-lane-sunday-driver can be pulled over and ticketed. Not sure about the implications if there is an accident. At least I think this is accurate.
One thing I have noticed is if you're on the eastern seaboard, the further you go from Virginia, either north or south, the worse the drivers are.
Driving down to the Chick-fil-a Bowl in 2006, my dad and I noticed just about every major road sign along the interstate in North Carolina had been run over.
Driving north one time, I remember seeing a NJ plate on a car that did something really spectacularly stupid. I don't remember exactly what, but I remember my thought being, just slow down about 5 mph, and you'll actually arrive at your destination.
(dis)honorable mention to Connecticut. Not so much for the drivers, but the driving experience in general. I've driven through that state twice, and both times are in my top three of worst driving experiences. First time, as soon as I hit the CT line, I'm in stop and go traffic. What should have been the last 20 minutes of my drive ended up being an hour and a half. Second time, I'm going up to a wedding, and the highway I'm on merges with five other highways right before a bridge. It's something like a 8-10 lane bridge. The geniuses up there decide to close all but one lane for road work that is only occurring in one lane on a Friday evening. Took 3 hours to go 10 miles.
OK... Let's not pretend that Virginia drivers are saints...
Earlier this year on the way through the state to a wedding I was being followed by a girl who... And I shit you not... Was driving for a good hour with one foot out the driver's side window and the other foot on the passenger side dash. And yes, she stared me down when we passed each other.
There used to be a foreign exchange student from Russia that drove a yellow Jeep all over Blacksburg from somewhere around the 03-05 time line with his leg/foot out the window. I saw him EVERYWHERE. Who knows how many accidents he got involved in. Met a girl at one point who said she dated the guy and that he basically drove like that to look as cool as possible.
Wow - talk about a blast from the past! I remember that dude. What a legend.
I guess it worked
Met a girl at one point who said she dated the guy
The legend continues
I'll take "Quick Ways to Ensure I Lose a Limb" for $100, Alex
All I said is that it gets worse going outward from Virginia. Never said Virginia drivers are that great.
I went to high school in southern VA. When I moved to Nova after college, I realized that dicing capabilities dropped significantly. This became even more apparent when I moved into DC. In DC, VA and MD drivers tend to suck equally.
The cop presence in Nova is nuts. MD not so much, so people aren't scared to burn it up there (drive down 50W sometime).
I realized that dicing capabilities dropped significantly
So the sous-chef quality got lower? The tables were shorter?
I worked in MD for over 8 years after I graduated, and thus is absolutely true.
I haven't lived on the east coast for nine years, but this past summer I spent most of it driving all over this country, and the worst drivers are: MD, Fla and Texas. I saw a woman with Texas plates on 81 in PA drive the speed limit for over 30 miles in the passing lane with a mile backup behind her, she refused to move over. I saw a similar thing in Illinois with a Texas plate. Finally, driving through El Paso nearly killed me twice in a 30 mile stretch. Interstate 10 takes nearly 900 miles to cross the state, and I've never been so glad to be in New Mexico. It only took about 100 miles driving in florida before I'd seen my second car fire.
Having spent the vast majority of my life on the East Coast, I was surprised by the drivers elsewhere when I took a road trip out West with my best friend after graduating college. Once you cross the Mississippi, if you're somewhere like Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska....most states that I passed through in the midwest and in the Mountain time zone, the drivers are incredibly chill. Nobody blew by me on the right hand side going 20mph faster than me just because they could. Nobody tailgated me. Then I got to Wyoming, Idaho and Utah with their 80mph speed limits and my eyes almost popped out my head. I didn't know speed limits of 80 were a thing. I made great use of them once I did know. Then I got back into Tennessee, and the aggression in other drivers went back up, staying there the whole way home. For the life of me, I can't figure out why this was.
My personal theory on this is its hard to be angry if you live in a place where it's sunny all the time.
This shouldn't be normal anyway. If this is happening regularly it's a sign that you're too far left. Not saying they're doing the right thing (because they're not), but pretty much universally slower traffic is supposed to keep right.
But yeah, speed limits west of the Mississippi (at least until you hit the Pacific coast states) are generally set fairly reasonably. Texas even has a road with an 85 MPH speed limit.
These would generally happen when I'd be something like 5-10mph over the speed limit and in the left lane. The older I've gotten, the better I've become about keeping right, but there are still times where some overcompensating fellow in a sports car/lifted truck decides to douche it up to my right.
I think in large part opinions on other drivers are based on what you're used to. If you learned to drive around MD drivers, then you're going to think other drivers are terrible because they don't do what you expect them to do in a given situation. Same goes if you're from VA, NC, WY, wherever. That said, there's definitely an increased aggressiveness factor near pretty much every urban area. You have excessive volume, more type-A personalities, people who are used to lots of traffic and therefore adjust their attitude to prepare for it, etc. It's inevitable. Also, people generally don't give a shit about anyone else, so there's no common courtesy among a bunch of strangers.
Throw in the fact that we're all positive that we're above-average to great drivers even though that's statistically impossible, and everyone thinks everyone else is god-awful. Which they are, obviously.
Disclaimers: grew up in PA, have lived in MD since 2005. Am an awesome driver.
I'm just going to leave this here:
This is why you shouldn't drive slow in the left lane.
I still maintain that MD drivers are worse, but I saw this and thought it was pretty funny
That is NOT a Maryland tag on that car. (cannot say 100% it's VA either, but it's not MD.)
scary squatting car
Is that 295 in Richmond? I grew up close to that exit and I can confirm that drivers in Richmond are way too timid sometimes. Like in that video where they slow down as they're passing and then cut you off when they need to take an exit. Or slow down to 20 under the speed limit because there's a little rain.
As a guy who grew up and learned to drive in MD, then lived several other places in my adult life, I feel the need to chime in here. Yes, Maryland drivers are bad. No, they're not the worst. You spend enough time in the rust belt, and you'll feel that Michiganders are the worst. Except in Wisconsin...they HATE Illinois drivers worse than we hate Matt f&$@#ing Ryan. Out west, it's California drivers. In Maryland and NoVa, we'll tell you (with good cause) that the reason we're such assholes behind the wheel is because we have to be with all the diplomats on the road, due to proximity to DC. No license plate strikes more fear into the heart of a responsible motorist than the dreaded Diplomat plates. These guys often come from countries with no traffic laws and they have diplomatic immunity, so they don't give a flying f@#k about anything when they're driving. Very bad combo.
Most of my issue with Maryland drivers is that it seems like they don't give a flying f@#k about anything when they're driving. Driving around assholes is no excuse for driving like an asshole yourself.
Just drove to work in MD and learned to drive in NJ. Even I think MD drivers are the worst.
New Jersey driver? Learn to make a left turn and get back to me.
The percentage of diplomatic drivers in the D.C. area is significantly lower than the percentage of self-important people who drive as they please.
I think the bigger problem is that there are a high percentage of highly-educated people who make decent money and know someone who knows someone who is the under-secretary of muckity-mucks, which makes your driving needs less important than theirs. After all, they've got somewhere to be, and you're in their way...
This is officially all I can think of now...
About two weeks ago, while coming home from the grocery store, I was just about back at my house when I saw something I had never seen before. It's a 4-lane road, 25 MPH and mostly residential with a school. I'm in the right lane, one car to my left, and another car about 500 ft in front of me in the right lane. That car slows to a stop and pops it in reverse, moves back about 10 ft (by which point I'm now passing him wondering WTF is going on), then he puts it back in drive and continues on like nothing happened.
I thought nothing could surprise me after nearly 4 years in MD, but that sure did.
Everyone is arguing one state over another. All the while, I'm over here saying to myself after years of driving in Germany and Europe...all American drivers suck!!!
well that is unequivocally true
Freedom is good, but I do wish people would move to the right if they're not passing.
Sounds like something a commy would say. You a commy boi?
I thought commies wanted people to move to the left :)
Germany has the autobahn, which is very cool when used responsibly.
There is a lot of pressure there to drive (and do everything else) competently.
They spend a lot more time and money for driver's education as well.
I can't speak to everyone else, but my driver's ed was a joke. Done by my phys ed coach in high school. My behind-the-wheel consisted of cruising the backroads looking for turkeys.
All drivers suck except for me! No matter where I am driving!
If you live in Maryland, it certainly must seem like that.
I didn't want to start a new thread, but this is good shit...
VA bill would fine slow drivers in left lane
Some lady in Urbana, MD got fined for that a couple years ago on 270
Glad this thread got resurrected, because oh boy do I have another fun one.
It was yesterday morning, I was on my way to work and merging onto the Beltway near my house. I knew I was doomed from the moment I got onto the on-ramp. The car in front of me was going 15 MPH down the ramp and showed no signs of acceleration. Now, merging onto the Beltway under any circumstances can be an exercise in risking your life, but traffic was flowing freely so if we just hit anywhere north of 45 MPH it would be OK.
NOPE.
On comes the right signal (mind you, there's nowhere to go to the right except a wall, and the merge is to the left) and the car comes to a halt. Dead stop at the bottom of the ramp, not pulled over, just signaling and blocking the ramp. Cars compact behind me and this stopped moron. Horns, lots of them. So then the car starts to creep forward and we somehow merge onto 495 at about 15 MPH, at which point I blow past this crazy lady who had not a damn clue what she was doing and could have killed people. The on-ramp is also a shared off-ramp for the next exit, and stopping on it is a recipe for disaster.
Sounds a lot like my daily commute to Tyson's!
Ahhh, someone feels my pain. 123 West towards Vienna of 495?
My response to this kind of stupidity is to get on the horn, and stay on it. There's an awkward point around the 10-second mark, but once you power through that you're good.
This thread illustrates most of the reasons why I want self-driving cars as soon as humanly possible. Between the left-lane morons (people of MD and PA, I'm talking to you), those incapable of merging, or the dumbasses who are so busy cruising in the far-left lane of a multilane highway that they don't realize their exit is now 1/10th of a mile ahead, and need to zip across 4 lanes to get to it... I cannot wait for the machines to take over.
Don't flip to Maryland Tajh! Their drivers are the worst!